After hours of deliberation, and presentations by section commissioners of their section's bowl eligible teams (50 total), 10 teams have been selected to play in the state CIF bowl championship games, including San Diego representative Cathedral Catholic for division II. Here the matchups.





OPEN DIVISION: GRANT, SACRAMENTO vs. POLY, LONG BEACH

Grant High School (13-0, 5-0) was the Division II Champion from the Sac-Joaquin Section. The Pacers, who play in the Metropolitan League, are coached by Mike Alberghini. They will face Long Beach Poly High School (14-0, 6-0) which was the Pac-5 Division Champion from the Southern Section. The Jackrabbits, who play in the Moore League, are coached by Raul Lara.

Grant finished the season undefeated, including a pair of wins against state champions from Idaho and Utah. Its win against Alta (Sandy, Utah) represented the highest ranked team that anyone from Northern California defeated this season. The Pacers’ high-powered offense scored more than 30 points in all but one of their games. They defeated highly rated Granite Bay in the Section playoffs and also earned victories against Burbank in both league and Section finals.

Long Beach Poly won its Section championship with a come-from-behind 20-17 victory against Tesoro Saturday night in the Pac-5 Finals. The Jackrabbits won their second consecutive Pac-5 championship, the toughest division in the Southern Section. They also began the season against Miami Northwestern who is playing for the Florida 6A State Championship.

DIVISION I: DE LA SALLE, CONCORD vs. CENTENNIAL, CORONA

De La Salle High School (12-1, 7-0) was the Division I Champion from the North Coast Section. The Spartans, who play in the East Bay League, are coached by Bob Ladouceur. They will face Centennial High School (14-0, 7-0) which was the Inland Division Champion from the Southern Section. The Huskies, who play in the Big VIII League, are coached by Matt Logan. This game will be a re-match of last year’s state Division I championship, which De La Salle won 37-31.

De La Salle, making its third appearance in as many years in the state championship, played a tough schedule and their only loss was in the preseason to Don Bosco (Ramsey, N.J.), who went on to become the private school state champion in New Jersey. Should the Spartans win the game, Ladouceur would take over as the leader in career wins in California state high
school football history.

Undefeated Centennial bested Central Section champion Clovis West and also perennial power Mater Dei in a preseason game. The Huskies also beat highly ranked Chaparral twice, including the Section final.

DIVISION II: ST. MARY’S, STOCKTON vs. CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC, SAN DIEGO

St. Mary’s, Stockton High School (12-2, 5-0) was the Division I Champion from the Sac-Joaquin Section. The Rams, who play in the Tri-City League, are coached by Tony Franks. They will face Cathedral Catholic High School (13-0, 5-0) which was the Division III Champion from the San Diego Section. The Dons, who play in the Eastern League, are coached by Sean Doyle.

St. Mary’s of Stockton’s greatest strength was its tough schedule. Its only loss was to Bellarmine, a contender for the Division I state berth. The Rams had strong playoff wins against Merced and twice defeated Lincoln of Stockton, giving them their only two losses of the season.

Cathedral Catholic has been the top-ranked Division team in the statewide polls throughout the season. Nine of their 10 regular season opponents made the Section playoffs, and they are riding a 20-game win streak. The Dons have victories this season against Carlsbad, a SDS Division I semifinalist, and Scripps Ranch, a Division II semifinalist. Cathedral Catholic
also earned the CIF State girls’ volleyball championship Dec. 6, 2008.

DIVISION III: CARDINAL NEWMAN, SANTA ROSA vs. ST. BONAVENTURE, VENTURA

Cardinal Newman High School of Santa Rosa (13-0, 7-0) was the Division II Champion from the North Coast Section. The Cardinals, who play in the North Bay League, are coached by Paul Cronin. They will face St. Bonaventure High School of Ventura (13-1, 7-0) which was the Northern Division Champion from the Southern Section.

The Seraphs, who play in the Channel League, are coached by Todd Therrien. Both teams are making their second appearance in the state finals as the Cardinals played in the inaugural games in 2006, and the Seraphs won last year.

Cardinal Newman was the top-ranked Division III team in Northern California for virtually the entire season. They had wins against Central Catholic, Del Oro and Palma during non-league play. They also defeated previously undefeated Clayton Valley in their Section championship.

St. Bonaventure’s only loss was to Long Beach Poly, which will be playing in the state Open Division championship. The Seraphs had a commanding 42-7 victory in their Section final against Moorpark to finish off their tough season schedule.

SMALL SCHOOLS DIVISION: HAMILTON UNION, HAMILTON CITY vs. ST. MARGARET’S, SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

Hamilton Union High School of Hamilton City (10-2, 6-1) was the Division III Champion from the Northern Section. The Braves, who play in the Mid-Valley League, are coached by Mark Cooley. They will face St. Margaret’s High School of San Juan Capistrano (14-0, 3-0) which was the East Valley Division Champion from the Southern Section.

The Tartans, who play in the Academy League, are coached by Harry Welch. This is Welch’s second coaching appearance in the state finals as he also led Canyon of Canyon Country to the Division I title in 2006.

Hamilton Union won its Section final in overtime against Willows and finished the season as the top-ranked team in the Small Schools Division in all the statewide polls. Their strength of schedule was key to their selection. The Braves are the first team from the Northern Section to participate in the state football championships.

St. Margaret’s enters the state football championships on a 42-game win streak, the longest such string in Orange County history. The Tartans won their third straight Section title this season, though the first since being moved up to a higher division. They defeated two schools of approximately 2,000 students in the playoffs.

“The Selection Committee made a commitment to a complete process during which all 50 schools were presented by their respective Commissioner and discussed thoroughly, said Ishida.” I applaud the other 40 Section champions for their performances this season.”